TS Polo

Polo was a Cat 5 Hurricane as he churned up the Pacific coast of Baja California over the past weekend.  It was a Cat 3 when it made landfall Monday morning.  Residual rains were due our way Monday night with stronger rains and floodings for today.

While it did rain here Monday night, it was more of a mist.  The low-lying clouds all day yesterday were more intriguing and reminded me that autumn is here.   I did most of my daily steps at the high school in case it was a rainout later. (My goal is at least 6000 steps a day but I usually do 10,000+.) I did not walk any dogs yesterday.

Today's weather was more dramatic.  I woke up to mountains hidden entirely by low-lying clouds.  Sunrise was completely bypassed.  Rain and thunderstorms were forecasted for  late in the morning and arrived on time, flooding parts of the school campus.  The classroom had a window and I'd watch the sky whenever I could.  It rained for a good two hours, then stopped, with a second deluge due by 4pm.

It was the kind of weather I'd rather have witnessed from home with my dogs.  I had taken this five-day sub position two weeks ago for an AP American History class and didn't nor couldn't cancel out now. History is one of my favorite subjects and AP students tend to be well-behaved and focused.

I had also made plans with Steve to try out Taco Tuesday at The Sierra Grill and steakhouse and then see the new movie "Heart of the Beast" starring Brad Pitt and German Shepherd Dog UberIII as Odin. Tuesdays all tickets all day are a mere $5.50 at our local Cinemark. This was a belated birthday treat for him since he was in Washington state with his daughter Margot for his birthday in August. This was my first theatre movie in well over ten years.  The hyped human-dog relationship is what sold me. The natural landscape of New Zealand, where the movie was filmed, was another reason.

Both dinner and movie turned out well-timed.  I left the high school at 2:30pm as a light rain began. I arrived at Steve's place at 2:47pm to shrouded Whetstone peaks. Five minutes later we were on our way to the restaurant.  That's when the rain got heavy. We got to the Grill at 3:25pm to a near-empty dining area.  We each had one beer and three tacos each.  I had a side of beans, Steve had both rice and beans.  The bill was $33 plus tip.  We left the restaurant at 4:30pm to a cleared-up sky, and got to the mall at 4:57pm.  The movie began at 5:20pm. We never had to wait around for anything all afternoon. The weather was never threatening to me as a driver.  That had been my main concern because people in this town as a group are reckless drivers.  We have bad vehicle accidents in town almost daily.

The movie was good but not award-winning. Both actors suffer from PTSD from their time together in Afghanistan. Pitt plays a retired Special Forces Sergeant Major and Uber is his canine partner.  They were the only survivors when their platoon was ambushed.  Scenes are played with flashbacks.  The story focuses on the human-dog bond.  The chemistry between the two is very believable. Odin's facial features reminded me of Sara, who died in 2013.  But the story also has its flaws, which brings my rating of the movie to 7/10. 

The two major flaws I had with the movie were the unnecessary CGI animals.  The bear and wolf scenes could have been eliminated and the story line focused on the challenges of the terrain and weather alone to create psychological tension and character development. Pitt has a medical condition during the flight scene, which causes the plane to crash.  His subsequent physical exertion seems unreal. His medical condition early on gives away the ending so the ending is predictable but yet still bittersweet.

Posters on Reddit were especially critical of the movie and the worst ones were former Special Forces soldiers.  I will say no more to avoid spoiling the plot, but I agreed with most of them.  I am a realist and the more real scenes are, the more of an impact the movie has on me.

We were out of the theatre just before 7pm and stopped at Punchy's for a second round of beer.  Here is where we talked about the movie, as we sipped our pints on the lighted patio.  I was still very full from the tacos earlier. The rain had cooled off the air.  Our flannel shirts kept us comfy.

"I am 79 and Trace is 13; either one of us can go at anytime" said Steve.  I silently agreed,  None of us is guaranteed another day.  Even I am concerned about my heart health.

I dropped Steve off at 8pm, just as the waning full moon rose above the Dragoons. I told him we should have more movie dates like tonight.  I was home by 9pm to six very happy dogs.  By 10:30pm I was on a walk with Gretel around the 'hood.  She is my own Odin. We both walked past the rain damage together; the rain was heavy in my area. By 11:30pm I was getting tired for the night.

There was still distant lightning to the northwest as I went to bed shortly after midnight. The moon highlighted the rain clouds still hovering over the mountains.

Full moon hikes

 The official full moon was yesterday.  I took Zana with me for a short hike up Bisbee's shrines, a short hike under three miles. I miscalculated the time of the moon rise and descended ten minutes before the moon finally rose. We stayed in town for dinner and walked a little in Old Bisbee for added mileage.

Today I made sure I had the correct time (6:38pm) and took Zana and Gretel.  This time we did Juniper Flats by the second radio towers.  This was a shorter hike of 1.5 miles.  

The road to the towers is badly rutted in the last 0.4 miles.  I parked the Honda in a turnoff and walked the rest.  There was heavy cloud cover and was hoping the clouds would create some color at the 6:09pm sunset.  They did, but it wasn't a full sky burst of warm hues of yellow, orange and reds.

Normally Juniper Hill is a great spot to view both sunset and moonrise, but I didn't want to risk meeting a snake.  The grass was too overgrown to watch one's footing.  Grass covers the rocky slope.  I just stayed on the faded jeep trail.  

The dogs got a little impatient with waiting around for the moon to rise.  Again, cloud cover quickly made the rising moon slink back behind clouds.  It took another 20 minutes for the moon to make its full appearance and we were back in the car by then.

It was very dark up on the hill. It didn't bother the dogs but it made me a little nervous.  A group of campers pulled in a few 100 feet from me to set up camp.  The dogs ran over to the guys and they thought there were getting attacked by coyotes!  The man I spoke to, Daniel, said that this is the first time the camping group has ever encountered other people.  I can say the same. 

Tomorrow night we are expecting overnight rains from Tropical storm Polo.  I hope it's a good rain!

Sunnyside Canyon Trail with Ellen, Brenda, and Gretel

Distance: 11 miles

Elevation gain: 2700 feet, from 5977' to 8476'

Significance: Solitude, seasonal water, views at top, personal challenge.

The Sunnyside Canyon trail is part of the Arizona Trail.  I had done this section about 20 years ago with the Huachuca Hiking club.  It kicked my butt then and it kicked my butt again today

The hike plan actually started a few days ago with a message from Ellen asking me if I were interested in hiking the trail with Brenda this morning.  She didn't state how far we'd go except "toward the crest...and to explore another flowing creek." but I said sure.  The only request is that I drive myself to avoid her SUV getting muddied by my dogs, as water is in the creek right now.  I complied, as I don't ever want anyone's vehicle muddied by my dogs.  That is why I drive myself most of the time, as everything I need for the dogs is in my Honda.  We met in town shortly after 8am and carpooled.

Hansel and Zana are my water-loving dogs but I ended up taking Gretel.  She just happened to be inside the house with Wolfie when the other four dogs darted outside to bark at dust.  I had to distract Wolfie with some raw chicken legs as I prepped Gretel for the 1.5-hour car ride.  We drove through Fort Huachuca and the western slopes of the Huachucas.  I don't come out here enough, but the mountains have a different look from the West. There are less people on this side of the mountains. Cell phone coverage is minimal.  We drove past Parker Canyon Lake and in another five miles hit  Forest Road 228 that took us to our trailhead parking.  We had one deep rut to overcome but my Honda managed.

Our hike started at 9:24am.  Temperature was 69F with partly-cloudy skies.  This was ideal hiking weather!  Gretel was off-leash and stayed close, although twice she ran up slopes chasing something.  A squirrel or bird, perhaps, as we didn't see any deer.  She had plenty of water in the flowing creek the first two miles.  We never came across anyone else during the entire hike.

Sunnyside canyon trail is an old mining trail.  There are still a few faint sites that once housed miners, but all that remains today is some rusty metal machinery.  The higher in elevation the trail goes, the narrower the trail becomes.  Today the trail was overgrown with wildflowers and grasses.

We kept a steady pace.  I was feeling good.  Gretel stayed near the water. I didn't begin to feel elevation until we got up Piano Hill at the 2.5-mile mark and the steepness increased. Steep switchbacks began and I needed a few short stops to get my breathing back to normal. Some sections had a 20% grade. We hit a trail leading to the Copper Glance Mine (Ellen and I did this several years ago) and we still had two miles to the Crest Trail.  At that point I knew I had to make it.

We felt the cooler mountain air once we hit 8000' elevation. We could see Parker Lake and its low water level. This part of the mountains was not affected by the 2011 fire.  The pinon pines and oaks were now Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines.  We had shade and spotted sunshine as we rested with a view east.  We hit the summit at 5.25 miles.  This tired Gretel and she rested while we chatted. It was just us, the birds, and the view.

Few people seem to come to this part of the mountain range.  Trail head signs were broken and on the ground.  Trail was overgrown and hard to follow.  I wouldn't want to have an injury up here.

The return hike was much better.  I was tired and on auto pilot.  Gretel was tired, too, and stayed by my side.  I was ahead of the two gals and stopped a few times for them to catch up to us.  They had mentioned that they wanted to hike back via the creek but i was more focused on getting back to the car before sunset. I also wanted to be on hard pavement before sunset as well.

My cell phone was near dead but I made it back to the Honda at 4:50pm with 5% battery power.  Ellen and Brenda came in at 5:10pm and we drove back the way we came.  We had hiked over 11 miles.  This was my longest hike in several years.

The west gate of Fort Huachuca is remotely manned.  One has to call the MP number posted and show your ID to the camera before the gate is lifted for vehicles.  I did all that, but the officer had trouble with my last name.  It was frustrating as the connection was spotty.  She finally let me in when I gave her my ID number.  Why didn't she just ask for that in the first place!?

Ellen and Brenda went their separate ways.  I got back home at 6:55pm (!) and both ankles were sore.  I even had some neuropathy in my left foot that went away in ten minutes.

Gretel was quiet the rest of the night.  She didn't even bother barking at backyard intruders for once. 

Mutt March and Doggie Dip with Hansel

I had this date marked all week: a morning at the Fort Huachuca outdoor pool with Hansel and other dogs. This would be Hansel's special day with me.

The event opened at 7:30am sharp with a 1.5 mile walk down the walking path, the Mutt March. I was the first one on the trail but didn't realize that until the turn-around point when I saw others with their dogs. The march, and later the pool time, was sparsely occupied. Most people who attended today came for just the pool.

 The volunteers checked the required vaccines as part of the registration. All dogs needed current rabies, distemper, and bordetella shots. Hansel's distemper and bordetella shots expire tomorrow, but per law he was allowed in. (I'll get him updated when it gets cooler outside and I can make another date at Tucson's ABC clinic.) 

The pool opened at 8am. We were told that all dogs must be on a leash when not in the water, and that that would be strictly enforced. So that meant we all had to hold tightly to our dogs. The wild chaos from a few years ago was no more, when I brought Steve and Trace along. I wanted Hansel to socialize with other dogs, but the leash kept that at bay.

 I had brought an old ball for Hansel and threw it in the pool when we first arrived, but he wanted nothing to do with the pool. He's always so quick to jump in the river to retrieve sticks, was he just unsure of the water's depth?  A lady later found the ball submerged a foot deep and returned it to me.

I eventually got him to the kiddie pool and he didn't mind that as the water there is only a foot deep. Other dogs joined him and he didn't mind them near him as long as he had a ball to retrieve. 

 

The lady who found Hansel's ball was in the pool with her black Lab. Another man swam laps with his Black Lab as well. Maybe I should try that next year: getting into the pool with my pup.. I wore quick-drying shorts but wore a cotton shirt and totally forgot about wearing swimwear.. 

 Everyone I saw with their dog was engaged with their pet. I like seeing that. Companies like Sit Means Sit, Peaceful Paws Spa, and Furbabies were there to advertise their services. There were also donuts and bananas. I ate a banana. The companies also had a few contests like best kisser and showing off tricks. Hansel didn't lick the woman judge nor gave me a "high five" and I'm assuming because the people around us made him a little shy. We didn't win anything, but that's ok. I didn't come to the doggie dip for freebies. 

 I talked a bit with Carmen, the owner of Furbabies in Sierra Vista. She makes liver treats for dogs and helps with local cat rescues. She seemed saddened by changes with the USArmy and the closure of military social media accounts, specifically subordinate accounts that often host fun events like today's Doggie Dip. Less information goes out with this new ban. 

This photograph was taken by an even volunteer and sent to the three business owners.  I got this from Carmen and her Furbabies website.  I'm up front with that goofy white hat in the lower left.

I walked around the pool with Hansel between dips in the baby pool, but at 9:20am I was told to clear the pool because of lightning. There were storm clouds on the peaks. Everyone left. I left just before 10am when the event officially closed. I was bummed by that early closure but was determined to go up Huachuca Canyon for a short two-mile off-leash walk. Afterall, I was on post and I don't get up here too often. 

 The entrance to Huachuca Canyon is five miles from the pool, and two miles on a badly-rutted dirt road. I only drove a mile up before parking as the clouds did look stormy. I would go a mile up, then back, I thought. I just wanted to give Hansel a good off-leash workout. I met a female jogger and later two female equestrians with their two dogs. Hansel didn't mind them. But otherwise we were alone. 

 My goal was to at least reach the mouth of the canyon, where the creek crosses the road. This is a lush area with milkweed and other wildflowers and popular with birders. There wasn't rushing water, but there was flowing water at the turn-around point.

 My tracker read 1.1 miles. Thunder started on my return walk and it was right over us. That made me walk faster! I was at the 1.7 mark when rain drops began falling. Not hard, but enough to make me even jog a bit back to my Honda. We did get back without getting drenched, as ten minutes later rain began to fall hard. The rain stayed over the mountains, as the town was dry as we drove through.

 I stopped briefly at the Shoppette. I was the only customer. Even the PX area was a ghost town. Back in the 1990s this area was bustling with families and soldiers. Not so much today. 

 We were back home by 1pm. Hansel was chill. He had walked 5.6 miles wih me. All the dogs were chill. And later, when I went to the frig to treat them with chicken, I discovered that the frig was no longer keeping food cool. Great.

A week of no rain

I had a quiet Labor Day weekend. I stayed local and walked Wolfie and Gretel solo. I wasn't in the mood to celebrate, or drive to Tucson in this heat. Today was dedicated to Fritz, Gretel, and Zana. The dry week allowed me to check out my preferred trail and enjoy a longer walk. I always enjoy watching the dogs run and chase eachother. They clearly love this freedom.

Back to the river

I hadn't been on my preferred trail down to the river in three weeks (1 Aug). I wanted to see if it was still flowing. The Lehner Kill site trail is nice, but not challenging enough. I like a good challenge. 

 I was up early for my morning coffee, then took Fritz, Gretel and Wolfie with me. They were in the back yard together so all three went. Fritz is the one who needed to run, then Zana. I would take Zana on her night walk later. 

 We got started at 6:42am at 75F. The dogs were excited. Wolfie was even running, albeit with a slight limp. I made it all the way to the second long jam at the 2-mile mark before turning around. The water was flowing, mostly clear, and the trail mostly dry. This is what I had hoped for.

 The rains earlier this month, however, caused the grass to grow tall. The single track was hard to find at times! Creosote blooms are now turning to seed. The dominant color is yellow among the flowers. Butterflies are out. 

 Wolfie was much more tired on the way back and was limping more. I will keep him to the shorter walks going forward if I can.

 In the end, Gretel was by my side and always within view, but I had to wait for Fritz and Wolfie before driving off. 

 I was back home by 8:30am. The house was eeriely quiet. Hansel was inside, but where were Gretchen and Zana? And then I saw the damage: the screen to a front window was pulled out. The girls had jumped out and were on the loose. The window was open 4-5 inches and they had pushed it up to get out. Damnit. This is the second screen they (most likely Zana) have destroyed. 

They were probably outside for at least an hour in 85F heat. I initially drove off to look for them, going north on Kino but then turning around because of the mud. The annual "Kino pond" is still in the middle of the road and one sedan was trying to drive through that. Bad move. The pond on the southern end of Kino had dried up, but left deep crevaces in the road. 

 Knowing that Zana comes home on her own, and Gretchen returns on her own when she's exhausted and thirsty, I waited this one out. Prior breakouts lasted 2-3 hours. I didn't hear any nearby barking. They could be anywhere within a half-mile radius. As long as they weren't harrassing livestock or in danger, there was not much more I could do. 

 By 9:30am I heard a thud on the front porch. It was Zana, covered in dried mud. She had jumped over the 18" "fence" I had put up to keep javelina off my porch. She came inside right away, but Gretchen wanted to go inside the Honda. I let her stay there for an hour as by then the sun is on the western side of the house. Zana looked exhausted. So did Gretchen. But so did the three dogs who had gone down to the river earlier. All of them chilled the rest of the day. We aren't expecting any rain until next Saturday.

The monsoon continues

Heavy rains were forecasted for several hours in the afternoon. Rain clouds shrouded the mountains at sunrise.

 I took advantage of the late morning when there were a few dry hours between showers and took Hansel and Fritz to the Lehner kill site area to walk the loop. This is mostly a level walk around grassland next to the river. 

The boys had a short fight in the backyard just before we left. Hansel tried to continue the disagreement so I made sure to walk both dogs hard. I'm getting tired of the cuts and tears the dogs give each other. They fight over food and alphadomThe rains are making the grasses and weeds grow tall. Some are already three feet tall. This makes looking at the ground at times difficult. Gone are the fields of sunflowers that would grow here before that April 2021 fire. I walked on the birding trail briefly to let the dogs to the water. It was flowing swiftly again after yesterday's rain. Both dog dip into the water and stay along the banks, avoiding the muddy current.r I continued south on the official trail to the old Case de San Pedro. The trail past the parking lot was heavily saturated and was thus not mowed, but I continued on, making a loop around the field and then returning to the Honda. It was an easy three miles. The rain has brought out the butterflies. i Hereford bridge is again closed due to flooding. I walked on it with the dogs on my way home. Right now the river is easily four times its normal width here. The rest of the day was uneventful. Rain returned mid afternoon, the dogs stayed inside, and I enjoyed watching the doves feed off seed I placed in a bowl near the front window. I wonder how many of the doves are young birds from this year's clutches? They look small and several have white edges along their wings.

Heavy rains again locally and in NWI

Monday night and Tuesday more rain came again and I was ready. I had bought food Monday morning and dogs had their raw chicken treat. While I prefer daytime storms so that I can see the sky better, I will take any moisture. 

 Northwest Indiana (NWI) also had strong storms. The wide paths of wind and rain are known as derechos and one hit my daughter's neighborhood Tuesday night. There was storm damage in Portage and Valparaiso, IN, with one death caused by a gas explosion in Chesterton. Erin and her boys were fine, but the photos were all over the weather channels the next day. NWI is former swamp land, so when it rains, the ground tends to flood easily. There is a small swamp pond not to far behind Erin's home. Her own back yard quickly gets saturated after heavy rains. High winds and flooding is the area's biggest menance. Even my former sister-in-law, Teamy H, received heavy rood damage when a mature tree was uprooted on her home. The poor woman had lung surgery in May for stage 3 lung cancer (yes, she had been a heavy smoker all her life) so additional home damage is one thing she and her husband Jeff didn't need. My niece Tracy posted photos on her Facebook page. Erin is always off on Wednesdays so she got to stay home with three restless boys and no power in the home. Power for the local Valparaiso schools is expected to be out for a week. I'm glad Erin and her family escaped damage. This year's weather in NWI has been especially rought, from bitter cold to high winds.

Bisbee's Zacatecas Canyon

 I had this little hike planned since the rains began last week.  Zacatecas Canyon off Brewery Gulch and its retaining walls fills up with water after heavy rains.  Bisbee was hit hard with the storms from last Monday and Wednesday.  Flood waters were running down Brewery Gulch and the street department had to work feverishly all day Thursday to get ready for this weekend's Pirate Festival.

I'm not into pirates.  I just wanted a "wet" hike with Zana.  It was her turn for a private hike and I think she really enjoyed it. Water was running in the streets so I stayed in the Gulch for 0.4 miles before climbing the stairs by the Mimosa Market up to OK Street, from where I started the official trail.  Debris and folded over grass were still visible from the storm waters.  I let Zana off leash from here.

Zana has become a great hiker.  Not once did she take off chasing anything.  She stayed up front and kept looking back at me.  Whenever the trail got hard to follow (thanks to the overgrown Lehman's Lovegrass) she would slow down and get behind me. Catclaw mimosa with its purple-pink bloom straddled the trail. I was focused on finding the first left turn back down into the Gulch.  My Strava app kept me on trail even when it was hard for me to see where I was going.

The trail was much easier to follow and less overgrown when I got to the intersection where I needed to take a left turn.  Zana ran on ahead and then went straight into the reservoir.  It was filled to the dam line and trickling over.  This was the source of all the water in the Gulch.

I let her swim for a bit before continuing my descent.  This is what I came for, afterall.

I never came across another soul while in the canyon.  The water stayed  with us as we walked downhill.  Two campers were by another reservoir but I didn't want to bother them as they were most likely homeless.

Pirate events began at 9am.  By then I was taking a break with Zana at the Allen and Co coffee shop, where I sat on a couch sipping an iced latte.  Zana acted a little nervous around all the people that came in shortly after I did, and joined me on the couch to cuddle.  She can be a real lovebug at times. Several dogs came through, but she didn't bark (although I had to hold her by the collar).

The hike took us 90 minutes for the 3+ miles.  I didn't get an accurate reading because my Strava app kept stopping, but my Samsung Health app says I did close to four miles by the time I got back to the Honda.

I stopped in Tombstone on my way home, trying out the new Iron Horse Cafe (a new biker bar) where again I had an iced latte, then stopped by a new sandwich shop for a roast chicken breast on whole wheat and Swiss cheese.  My final stop was at the Tombstone Brewery for a quick blood orange wheat.  It's my favorite beer of theirs.

By then Zana was exhausted.  The brewery's AC wasn't working and I was the only customer that first hour, nibbling on my sandwich before finally heading back home at 1:30pm. 

Zana has become my favorite urban hiker.  She's good around people and most dogs and doesn't whine in the car.  She seemed genuinely happy to be back with the pack and snoozing on the floor with them in the afternoon.

Tornado warning!

The day began like most days this summer:  I got up after runrise, sipped a cup of coffee, then took Fritz and Hansel at 1030am to the Lehner Kill site parking area for the mile-long walk to the river.   Fritz was due a good walk.  And he was happy to get out.  Skies were clear. 

The river was back to its normal level despite the rain on Monday.  The birding trail that loops off the main trail wasn't too muddy, either, so I walked with the dogs to almost the Casa de San Pedro B&B. I turned around before the sharp turn to the west.  We returned the way we came.

Rain was predicted for later.  Clouds slowly formed from the south as the day progressed. Sunset was colorful and a storm cloud grew off the southern horizon.  I took the dogs out to the backyard for a quick pee before the storm.

I was sitting in my old IKEA chair when my phone buzzed a weather alert: "Tornado warning 7:16pm  until 8pm. A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Sierra Vista, moving southwest at 5mph."

This was a warning, not a watch.  In my 22 years in the area, this is the first ever tornado warning. Yes, the rain soon began, but the thunder and lightning is what scared the dogs.  Gretel slinked into the bathroom.  Wolfie stayed by his spot by the front door.  The four others stood close to me awaiting further instruction.

I was a little apprehensive about a tornado warning.  While it was already dusk, the sky didn't have the greenish-black hue I've seen before in Texas and Indiana . Winds were calm, mostly. I even walked in the backyard but then realized I should take the warning seriously.  I stayed calm so as not to stress out the dogs.

Additional alerts were for a severe thunderstorm at 7:37pm through 8:15pm and then flash flooding from 8pm until 11pm.

What I witnessed was a non-stop lightning show over the Huachucas and lingering rain, although nothing severe. Bisbee got hit hard with heavy flooding in Old Bisbee